LAW ALLIANZ

Yahaya Maikori

Plot 5
Modupe Odulami 118
105102 Oniru Lekki Lagos
NIGERIA
phone: +23 48 177 777 751
website: www.lawallianz.com
e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dear Mr Maikori, the Law Allianz is specialized in commercial transactions and has an excellent reputation in this field. What in particular is your field of activity in this context?

Law Allianz is Africa`s leading entertainment law firm with gaming been our flagship area of expertise - we have been responsible for advising some of the largest gaming institutions - our services cut across sports betting, lottery, poker online gaming et. Over the last 7 years we have been instrumental in assisting the industry nafibate some of the legal and regulatory challenges especially on matters pertaining to tax and compliance. We have also been acting in advising Companies in the film and music industry.

What are the main challenges for commercial transactions located in Nigeria?

Some of the challenges include the conflicting laws and court judgements made by several courts over time on the issue of jurisdiction. There are 36 states in Nigeria, each state has the power to make laws on gambling/ gaming which are guaranteed by the constitution. A national agency with wide powers have also been set up by the federal government to regulate lottery - the agency's activities infringes on the powers of the individual states. Another Challenge has been that of taxation, the tax bodies because of the poor understanding of the gaming industry have tried to wholesomely apply the current tax laws without understanding the impact it has on the various subsectors of the industry.

What motivated you to get involved in commercial transactions?

I got involved in this area of law by happenstance. It started with a single client. That client subsequently generated several referrals as more companies began to focus of the opportunities in the market industry.

What do you think is your greatest accomplishment in your career so far?

In the last year my role in the industry has been recognised at different levels. I was appointed the Chairman, World Regulatory Body (WRB) advisory board for Africa. I was also invited to join the International Masters of Gaming Law (IMGL) - the first Nigerian and one of the very few Africans being invited. But my biggest accomplishment has been working with the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to restructure the legal regulatory and structural landscape of the gaming industry in Nigeria.

What are your plans for the future?

Our plans going forward is to grow our services from just providing legal services to providing full advisory servicec which includes market intelligence by implementing an industry mapping strategy that will avail clients of the resources they require for informed businesses decisions. Furthermore we also seek to expand our services to other African countries who have not been able to successfully unlock the industries potential.